Articles

2017: Ones to Watch

Susie Wheeldon

January 01, 2017

No influencer is an island. It takes leadership across a sector to create a movement for change. Given the wealth of stakeholders who play key roles in the decentralized renewables sector, this list is by no way exhaustive, but it highlights a few of the individuals and organizations that will help to shape 2017.

Henry Macauley, Minister of Energy, Sierra Leone

At Power for All, we believe that with political will and passionate leadership, rapid and catalytic change follow. In Sierra Leone, the importance of energy was put into stark relief during the devastating Ebola crisis. Health centers without power, and homes without lighting slowed efforts to contain the virus, and a lack of energy has hindered the country’s recovery. As Sierra Leone rebuilds, Energy Minister Henry Macauley has turned to decentralized renewables to ensure the country does not have to wait for energy access, and made ‘modern energy for all by 2025’ the flagship goal of the Sierra Leone Energy Revolution. Since May, the Minister has entered into the first ever Energy Africa compact with the UK Department for International Development, overseen VAT/tariff elimination and a ‘Green Lane’ fast track at customs for quality decentralized solar products, helped drive an innovative pilot finance program for solar home systems, united all 149 local Chieftains behind the initiative and walked the streets from Freetown to Bo, to talk to shopkeepers, distributors and the public about targeted actions to drive energy access. The scene has been set for big impact—and modern energy for 250,000 households—in 2017.

DFID Africa Clean Energy (ACE) Business Program

The UK Department for International Development’s (DFIDs) £43 million Africa Clean Energy program, launching in 2017, will be by far the largest program supporting the solar home system market so far. The program will provide finance and technical assistance to businesses, and policy advice to governments to create an “enabling environment” in 14 African countries over four years. If successful, the program will significantly reduce costs for businesses. For example, through reducing VAT/tariffs, building consumer demand, and improving access to finance. The fund builds on DFID’s Energy Africa work developing Policy ‘Compacts’ with a number of African governments, which outline jointly agreed steps to take in support of markets delivering energy access.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

The newly launched, China-based ‘Green Bank’—with a budget of $100 billion—set out its “AIIB Energy Strategy: Sustainable Energy for Asia Issues Note for discussion” in October this year with a focus on renewables and a clear expression that DRE is key to increasing modern energy access (almost half a billion people in Asia still live without electricity). In the draft strategy, the AIIB also sets out its aim to combat “the negative health impacts caused by indoor combustion of solid fuels”. Yet, in the 12 pages of the document there is only one specific mention of DRE, the organization’s sixth largest member has called for the inclusion of coal and nuclear,none of the approved or proposed projects yet have a decentralized renewables focus and the strategy notes that due to a lack of knowledge and capacity the AIIB will need to lean on the skills and experience of other Multilateral Development Banks as allocates its funding - which leads neatly onto...